so i'm in this bible study where right now we're focusing on how good thinking positive is for your life. basically "negative thinking equals a negative life, positive thinking equals a positive life." yeah. i agree. you're not supposed to get worked up about the little things. be positive, trust in God and everything will turn out.

so today i'm out cleaning the car and my little j somehow locks the door and shuts it. with the keys inside. normally, not a big deal. but right now, the only extra set of keys i own happens to be inside my purse. which i left at a restaurant in colorado last monday. along with my wallet, my checkbook, my camera, my identification, insurance cards, etc. etc.

i tried really hard to think positively about the purse, and lo and behold, when we got home, there was a message from a guy who said he found it and he would send it back. i eagerly await the mail each day...thinking positively "oh, well, i'm sure it will come tomorrow." i think there's a fine line between thinking postive and being an optimist with "sucker" written on her forehead. let me know if you think i crossed it.

now i must think positively about the keys. i'm sure they will arrive in the mail tomorrow with my purse and all its contents. and if they don't i'm REALLY SURE they'll arrive the next day, maybe with a note of apology for taking so long.

right???

at the beginning of the summer, the boys and i came up with something called the monkey bar challenge. neither one of them could go all the way across the monkey bars at school. in fact, neither one of them could really do the monkey bars at all. they would stand there and watch the little girls whip across them, and you could see the envy in their eyes. i think maybe boys just don't do monkey bars like girls do, i dunno. some of those little girls are insane. anyway, this challenge has been going on all summer. i've even pulled an armpit muscle trying to show them how to do it...as a grown-up girl, i have to say monkey bars are a lot harder than they used to be.

so anyway, tonite we bike downtown for awhile, and stop for the monkey bar challenge. big j takes a deep breath, and suddenly monkeys his way all the way across without batting an eye. the grin on his face was worth a million dollars. not to be outdone, little j goes to the even BIGGER set of monkey bars and goes across about 4 rungs before he drops with an ear-shattering WHOOOHOOOO.

funny how all at once, the whole world can change for a kid. i think the next challenge is going to have to be that dang rope you have to climb up in gym class...ugh. that brings back some pathetic memories. don't be surprised if BOTH my armpits are broken next time you see me...

i stand outside here in montrose, south dakota and there aren't any mountains on the horizon. the grass is brown instead of lush and green. i can't smell the pine trees or hear the rush of the river. but mostly, i can't hug my family or kiss my adorable little niece (she looks like me, i don't care what they say) or be around for the every day stuff that happens. i get this way every time we come back from a visit. it lasts for a few days, and then i get caught up in my life and the pang goes away.

i guess you could say i'm homesick.

i can't tell you how many times i fall in love with colorado when i'm there. i love the lifestyle. i love the people. i love the scenery. i love the way people treat their pets. i love the funky little restaurants and the music and the way the air gets cool enough to wear fuzzy sweatshirts at night in the summer. i love the fact that people bike to work. i love the way the wildflowers grow, and how all the colors are just somehow brighter. i love the outdoor festivals and the healthy way people look. while i was there, i had the opportunity to wake up at 5:45 am and ride a bike along a mountain path while the sun came up. i got to fish in a mountain lake where the water was clear and fresh. i was able to be with my grandpa in the hospital, and i got to have good talks with both my grandmas. my youngest son was amazed when we drove through a cloud at 10,000 feet, winding through red mountain pass, possible one of the most beautiful places in the world. when we got to durango, the beauty and peace of mom and chris's acreage kept us outdoors as much as possible. with horses, four-wheelers, a hot-tub and plenty of land to run around on, it was a playland for us adults as well. my favorite part is just spending time my family...i miss my mom a lot. i miss all of them.

and more than ever, today, i just want to go back home.

we're off to get our rocky mountain high...can't wait to see the family and the mountains!!

there it is. wild water west. once a year around little j's birthday, we go there and pay about a million dollars for a full day o' fun. the first time we did it, i think my family collectively fell to their knees when we entered the park. it's like disneyland for us...in fact, we have attempted to trick our kids into thinking this IS disneyland.

anyway. yesterday was the third year of our annual tradition, and i think this year the award for most fun goes to the husband.
see the "black hole" and the "free fall"? the two big slides? he OWNED them. not only did he own them, but he would not get off them. at one point, he whined "we don't have to leave yet do we?" as he scampered off for another round of wedgies.

and yes, for those of you wondering, i did indeed go down the black hole and the free fall. both slides are a nice reminder that you're alive. they really get the blood pumping, and i'm pretty sure i was grinning like a little kid at the bottom, as i sat there picking my suit out of my butt.
if that doesn't say "fun" i don't know what does.

happy birthday to my little j. how did he grow up so fast?????

ok, so here we go. the montana recap. we had a great time, there were around 30 family members up in red lodge for the week. this is a shot of us before we went white water rafting. The River Rats (the raft i was in with my jboys) conquered not only the river, but an inexperienced guide who about killed us all within the first few minutes of the trip. despite the big scare, it was a great time. my highlight was getting up the c-c-c-courage to jump off a cliff into the river near the end of the trip. when the guide said "you can climb up and jump off the cliff into the river if you want..." i thought he was kidding. until everyone else started hiking up like he said "hey, there's a free buffet up there." are these people afraid of NOTHING?

hot tubbing was a big hit for everyone. too bad i don't have pictures of my sister-in-laws drinking beer under water...but that happened much, much later in the night. ha.

kayaking on island lake, at the very top of the beartooth mountains. at least, i think that's where we were at. this place is amazing. there are 'WARNING: Grizzly Country" signs all over the place, and there is still snow up here. we camped one night in tents at a secluded little place...no running water, no electricity, plenty of mosquitos and apparently, grizzly bears. this was no woosy pop-up camper adventure :)

fishing at gardner lake. the trout here hop on your line about every minute. the kids loved it so much, they were willing to hike straight up for about 3/4 a mile without whining. or maybe it was the call of doritos and cookies in the car at the top of the climb...

all in all, another great vacation. good-bye montana, see you when the ski slopes open ...